DALLAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Texas Central, developers of the high-speed train, has engaged the global construction and engineering firm Salini Impregilo – operating in the U.S. market with The Lane Construction Corporation – to lead the civil construction consortium that will build the Texas passenger line.

The selection of the Italian firm, one of the largest civil engineering contractors in the world, reflects the participation of leading industry global organizations that are designing and building the high-speed train connecting Houston and North Texas.

“Salini Impregilo’s knowledge and experience in designing, building and leading large scale railway projects across the world is impressive, and its presence in the U.S. market with Lane is also strategic for the project,” said Texas Central CEO Carlos F. Aguilar. “Their inclusion in the consortium highlights the stature of the Texas project and the interest of global infrastructure companies to be part of America’s first high-speed train.”

Salini Impregilo is active in more than 50 countries on five continents, with experience building more than 4,000 miles of railway infrastructure around the world – in Australia, Europe, Asia and the Americas. It built many high-speed train projects in Europe, and some iconic, complex projects in the world in the wider transport sector, including the expansion of the Panama Canal.

The company has worked in the U.S. since the 1980s and expanded its presence in 2016, merging with The Lane Construction Corporation, a U.S.-based company with almost 130 years of experience in infrastructure work.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for us,” said Pietro Salini, CEO of the Salini Impregilo Group. “We are delighted to be invited to take part to bring high-speed train service to Texas, as we have in Italy and other countries. It is precisely the kind of large, complex infrastructure project in which we have decades of experience. The United States is now our biggest single market, with a consolidated presence in highways, bridges and tunnels, and we are pursuing the high-speed rail sector.”

The announcement is the latest milestone for the investor-led project – a 200 mph train connecting the state’s largest population and economic regions in 90 minutes, with a midway stop in the Brazos Valley. The project will create a super-economy, connecting the 4th and 5th largest U.S. markets in fast-growing communities looking for safe, reliable and productive travel options.

As the lead of the civil construction consortium, Salini Impregilo will be responsible for all work up to the top of the rail, including viaducts, embankments and drainage.

Under the Limited Notice to Proceed (LNTP) agreement, the project’s design-build participants will proceed with the front-end engineering and design of the train’s civil infrastructure. Other services include optimizing execution approaches, strategies and logistics, as well as performing analysis to develop construction costs and schedule estimates.

That work helps to develop a design build contract that will be used to complete the civil infrastructure program. This is a precursor to financial close, after which construction of the civil infrastructure segments of the project will begin.

The agreement is the latest example of the project bringing the best subject matter experts to the team, creating a new industry in the United States. The train will inject an estimated $36 billion in economic benefits statewide over the next 25 years, including creating 10,000 jobs per year during construction and 1,500 permanent jobs when fully operational.

The Texas train will be based on Central Japan Railway’s Tokaido Shinkansen train system, the world’s safest mass transportation system. It has operated for more than 54 years with a perfect record of zero passenger fatalities or injuries from operations, and an impeccable on-time performance record.

The Texas project will be built and operated without taxpayer-funded state or federal grants.

Texas Central and its partners are refining and updating construction planning and sequencing, guided by the Federal Railroad Administration’s recently released Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the project.

That federal review cited many factors in support of the project, saying the train “is needed to accommodate growing demand” in Texas and to provide a more environmentally favorable travel alternative.

The FRA now is working on a final environmental review that will help determine the project’s timeline and final route.

ABOUT TEXAS CENTRAL

Texas Central is developing a new high-speed train that will connect North Texas, the Brazos Valley and Houston, using proven, world-class technology. The 90-minute trip will provide a safe, reliable and productive transportation alternative. The company’s market-led approach is backed by investors, not government grants, a new business model for infrastructure advances. Texas Central and its affiliated entities will be responsible for the system’s design, finance, construction, operation and maintenance. See more at www.texascentral.com.

ABOUT SALINI IMPREGILO

Salini Impregilo is a leading global player in the construction of large, complex civil infrastructure. It specializes in the water sector – where it has been recognized as global leader by Engineering News-Record (ENR) – as well as railways and metro systems, bridges, roads and motorways, civil and industrial buildings, and airports. The Group has more than 110 years of applied engineering experience on five continents, with design, engineering and construction operations in 50 countries and more than 35,000 employees from 100 nationalities. Salini Impregilo is a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact and pursues sustainable development objectives to create value for its stakeholders. It assists clients in strategic areas including energy and mobility, helping to drive development and well-being for current and future generations. Its leadership status is displayed in projects such as the new Panama Canal, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in Ethiopia, the Cityringen metro in Copenhagen, the new Riyadh metro system, the Stavros Niarchos cultural centre in Athens, and the new Gerald Desmond Bridge in Long Beach, USA. In 2017, new orders totalled €6.7 billion, with a total backlog reaching €34.4 billion. Salini Impregilo Group is headquartered in Italy and is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange (Borsa Italiana: SAL; Reuters: SALI.MI; Bloomberg: SAL:IM).

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